About 900 additional U.S. troops are heading to the Middle East or have newly arrived there to bolster air defenses to protect U.S. personnel amid a surge in attacks in the region by Iran-affiliated groups, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
As tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas war, U.S. troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria in the past week, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told a news briefing. Ryder said U.S. forces were targeted earlier on Thursday in Iraq but the attack failed.